Exiles Bury Rafter, Urge Blockade

CUBA IN CRISIS

August 28, 1994|By LUISA YANEZ Staff Writer

MIAMI — An estimated 20,000 Cuban exiles waving flags and banners marched through Little Havana on Saturday to honor a Cuban rafter who died at sea and to urge President Clinton to order a full blockade of Cuba.

The 19-block memorial procession up Calle Ocho was led by a hearse carrying the body of Rafael Gamez, 34, a rafter who died on Aug. 17 while crossing the Florida Straits with his brother, Pedro, 32, who survived.

To Miami's exile community, Rafael Gamez is a symbol of the desperation of the Cuban people, who in recent weeks have taken to the sea in record numbers to escape hunger and repression in Cuba.

"This has to end," said U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, who stood near Gamez's coffin at Graceland Cemetery, where he would be buried. Nearby, Pedro Gamez, who watched his brother die after seven days at sea, stared at the ground and wiped away tears.

"We don't want to have to bury any more rafters," Ros-Lehtinen said.

One way to end the flood of humanity from Cuba is for Clinton to ask for a naval trade blockade of the island, the demonstrators said.

"I feel this is the time for Clinton to act strongly," said Juan Sebastian, 45, of Hialeah, who came to show his support with his wife and two children. "I think if Clinton orders a blockade, we will finally get rid of [Cuban President Fidel) Castro."

Andres Vargas, president of Cuban Unity, sponsors of the march, said the blockade could be "the knock-out punch" for Castro.

Along the route, the same sentiment was echoed. Demonstrators, braving heat and rain, waved "Blockade Now" banners. They also hung Castro in effigy and carried black coffins representing the 40 people who drowned when a Cuban tugboat sank on July 13. Survivors said Cuban gunboats rammed their boat. Cuba said the tug sank after an accidental bump with a gunboat and that 32 died.

Juana Lastra, 51, of Miami, said the tragedy of all Cuban boat people had cost Castro supporters worldwide.

"Everyone now knows Cubans would rather die at sea than live under him," said Lastra, who was dressed in black and marched by a giant Cuban flag. "Castro is the one that has to leave Cuba, not the people. We want our country back."

U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, went a step further.

He thinks the United States should now allow Cuban exiles in Miami to launch an invasion of Cuba. Neutrality pacts between the two countries prohibit the United States from becoming a staging ground for such an effort.

"We don't want one American GI to die for Cuba," Diaz-Balart said. "We want to die for Cuba. We want a Mariel in reverse to go and die with our brothers and sisters in Cuba."

For now, there seems to be no letup in the Cuban exodus.

The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued more than 17,000 Cubans in August. Those who are intercepted at sea are now being returned to the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. They will not be processed for immigration and could be held indefinitely.